I was very impressed by what Gladwell did in Blink. His evenhanded approach paired with his willingness to tackle tough seemingly incongruent streams of data was encouraging and challenging. It was also refreshing that he didn’t present Blink in such a way that made the theory the answer to all things. Too often books have presented themselves in an over confident tone that is somewhat questionable in this genera, Gladwell avoids the pitfall well. For this book in particular it will take awhile for me to figure out what it means, but the issues presented are challenging and useful.
For me Priming was probably the most useful idea he covers. Its uses are staggering. One use I could see is for a team that is stumped. By using random word association games to offer fresh insight to break deadlocks. Priming allows a team to break away from box thinking and has the potential to reduce the effects of groupthink. Another advantage to priming is the ability for us to prepare ourselves for who we may need to be in a certain situation. Read adjectives, verbs and nouns and their definitions for the type of person you need to present. Often that person will show up, at least in some facet.
Over all I wouldn’t say blink is as revolutionary as some have made it out to be, but it is useful. If you need the meaning of life I'd probably suggest looking somewhere else. If you are looking for insight into the way the mind works check it out.
